Azalea Heaven

The Azaleas in our yard are fabulous this year; perhaps because of the mild Winter, or maybe they decided at the annual Azalea Conference that they haven't done such a good job lately, and needed to be looking Really Fly this year to avoid being replaced with Oleanders.  Or Camellias.  

The blooms are so luscious and thick that they look like bright blankets...

When I run my hand across the blooms, they are silky and juicy feeling.  Makes me want to get a big spoon and eat them up.

Our normally shady, plain walkway to the side door now looks simply Royal:

And the front of our house has a ruched collar of tightly scrunched blooms.

They are so glorious that it is hard to spend any time inside, where I need to be working.  I've decided it is okay to roam endlessly around the yard...they have absolutely nailed it this year, and if I don't gulp them down with my eyes and heart, then all their efforts would go unnoticed, for crying out loud. 

Think I'll go on out and take another look...

Life Does Go On

It has been a month since my husband's surgery - the doc says all the cancer was contained in one area, and no further treatment is necessary.  I guess that good old Guardian Angel includes my loved ones, too.  Thanks, dude!

I could (and probably should) write a book now on the immediate aftercare of a man who has undergone prostate removal.  Just to give everyone a Head's Up if you are facing this situation any time soon - take your pajamas to the hospital when you check in for his surgery, and be prepared to set up camp in his room.  During the surgery, don't sit in the hospital - give all the attendants your cell phone number, then go find some peace and comfort for three to four hours while he is in their hands.  You will need your reserves so that you can be alert every second of the first night to support and comfort your man.  The nurses will check on him periodically, but you need to be there every second for the next 48 hours.  Just sayin'.

We are in Atlanta now, and loving it.  There is a beautiful Spring going on over here that just doesn't happen at the beach...on the island, there's no verdant grass, no tender blossoms, and no sunny corners to curl up in out of the still-chilly breeze.  The island has its own charms in the Spring, but I guess I'm just a woodsy kind of girl, and love the smell of all the trees and vines waking up, stretching, and shaking off the Winter.

Yesterday, my husband called me to look out at an abandoned flower bed that is overgrown with ivy now (so much to do!) to show me a single tulip that had arisen and bloomed 12 years after being planted, just at this particular time.  He remarked that if you were Japanese, you would probably place deep spiritual significance to that bloom; you would probably translate that as a sign that life would go on.

I'm thinking he's about right.

                                                                  

Stars and Guardian Angels

I was born at a tiny little clinic in Leighton, Alabama.  The doctor who had delivered me was the only one in attendance besides my Dad, and as he was cleaning me up he smiled and held up my foot to my Mom.  "Look at this", he says.  "She will always be lucky in life!"

What he was pointing out was a perfect five-point star, made by lines converging on the bottom of my foot.  When I was a teen, I stared at that star many times, wondering where the heck the luck was.  More than once, Mom told me that it was the sign of my Guardian Angel, and that he was watching over me, never fear.  When I was barely 20 years old, I got married and left my parents and childhood home and flew away to live in Hawaii.  Right about then, my Angel went to work, and hasn't stopped since.

After I ended my last post on November 14, I got in the van to go to Jamie's Spot Fry and saw messages on my cell phone.  Heading down the street, I listened to them and learned that a young couple was driving around the island, trying to find me.  What followed next has changed the track of my life at exactly the right time in my life...which can only be attributed to that good old Guardian Angel who put his stamp on my foot and claimed me while I was still in the womb.

They wanted to buy my fabric store, Tideline Fabrics, which is located in Shallotte.  We talked for about an hour in a parking lot (I missed the Spot Fry) and to skip over all the details and get to the present, we are moving toward closing in mid-February.  

That will release me to move my home base back to Georgia - to my beloved home, gardens  and studio there, and most importantly, it will release me to be with my husband 24-7 as he enters the battle against cancer.  He was diagnosed November 30, and last night his surgery was scheduled for February 17.  He has chosen a doctor in Atlanta rather than Duke...see how all this works?